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Friday, December 2, 2016

Geeking out with a new Bug!

I love working in the science
field. I love to learn, ask questions
and try and understand the mysteries of living organisms – human or
animal. I love the thrill of discovery,
innovation and feeling like a pioneer in fields that interest me (infection prevention and biosecurity). Science has taught me how little I know and
how truly fascinating the world is. I
get paid to think hard and irritate the non-scientists I work with by
insistently asking questions and starting many sentences with “Ya-but….” It’s an awesome gig. I’ve embraced my geekiness, but admit there
are times when my geekiness can get embarrassing.

Why do I love infection prevention
and biosecurity so much? I get to play
in both the human and animal health markets.
There are always new “bugs” popping up.
I am always tasked with figuring out the best way to clean and disinfect
so that a facility can stop the transmission and save the lives of their
patients. Every time I learn about a new bug, I get to learn and work to figure
out how cleaning and disinfection can help.
As you can imagine, reading an article about a new strain of Streptococcus totally grabbed my
attention! According to the articles
I’ve read, between February and November of this year, there have been 28 confirmed cases, 4 of which died. Ten of the people were found in the Fairbanks
area and 18 in Anchorage. The most recent cased in Anchorage have occurred in
homeless men with a history of alcohol abuse.

There are 220 different strains of Group A Strep (also known as
GAS) which can cause a wide range of infections including strep throat and
wound infections, to toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis. People who are generally more susceptible
include the elderly, the very young and those with underlying health
conditions. There is also data that
suggests that some racial demographic groups are also at higher risks. While Alaska averages 60 to 90 GAS infections each
year, this outbreak is associated with a
newly identified strain. One that has
never been seen before. The strain was
identified in July and of interest the cases have been mostly middle-aged
Alaska Native men, many of who have stayed in homeless shelters.

Residents of
homeless shelters may represent a population at increased risk of GAS carriage
and infection due to the fact that they may have various health conditions,
such as lung disease and alcohol abuse which make them more prone to
infections. Group A Strep can easily
spread to other people. It lives in the
nose and throat of individuals and isspreadby
direct contact with nose and throat discharges of an infected individual or
with infected skin lesions. The risk ofspread is greatest when an individual is ill, such as when people
have strep throat or an infected wound. When someone who is infected
coughs or sneezes, the bacteria travels in small respiratory droplets. You can then get sick if these respiratory
droplets are breathed in or a surface that has the droplets on it is touched
followed by touching your mouth or nose.
You can also become ill if you drink from the same glass or eat from the
same plate as a sick person. Crowded
conditions within a busy homeless shelter can therefore be the perfect
environment for spreading disease.

Do you see why
science is so awesome? I certainly would
never want to minimize the deaths that have occurred from this outbreak, but
finding a new strain – Streptococcus
anchorage – you have to admit is pretty cool.